Tesla's yet to be launched Model 3 already sold out for first production year

Tesla's yet to be launched Model 3 already sold out for first production year

Snapshot: Tesla's most budget friendly sedan's delivery has already been shifted from late 2017 to mid 2018, since 1st batch has already been sold out.

Whatever Elon Musk do, do in style and when he held a press conference to announce the new Tesla Model 3 sedan, it created an impact, so much so that within 72 hours of opening its booking, 2,76,000 people deposited money to buy the car. And that too after knowing that the Model 3 will only be available from late 2017, as its production has not been started.

The dynamic CEO of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk has yet again made news with his latest announcement on Twitter. According to Musk, the new Model 3 has already been sold out for the first production year, which means new customers won’t get their new all-electric sedan until at least mid-2018, one year after the first production cars will be handed to the group who were the earliest to book the car.

Soon after, the Tesla website changed the status from 'Deliveries begin late 2017' to 'Delivery estimate for new reservations is mid-2018 or later'. The status can be seen below the order button, meaning anyone who orders the car now will have to wait close to 2 years to get their hands on the new electric sedan. For the cars ordered before this, the earlier delivery date still stands.

As of now, the U.S based brand has received well over half a million deposits (5 lakh vehicles) for its model 3, which is a record in itself, not only fro the Tesla, but for the whole auto industry. As for the delay, reports are that the unexpected demand is the biggest contributor to the growing delay, although Tesla is yet to confirm this.

As mentioned above, a staggering 2,76,000 deposits were received in the first 72 hours, out of which 1,17,000 were placed even before the car had been unveiled. The launch event was held in California earlier this year, although the prices of the car were not unveiled. The Model 3 is the fourth all-electric model to come from the stable of Tesla Motors and is the most affordable of them all.

Like the price, the exact specifications of the Tesla Model 3 has not been confirmed yet, but it is claimed that the sedan will be a five-seater mass market vehicle capable of doing 0-100 kmph in 6 seconds, with a total mileage of 402 km in one charge. Since the Model 3 was the dream project of Musk, he gave the car a thorough thought-process before launching it for the masses.

One such basic design element is the cabin space, which, according to Musk, is greater than any combustion-engined car of this size. The lack of a combustion engine has enabled designers to move the front seats closer to the front bay, freeing up more space for those behind. A single-pane panoramic sunroof and two boot compartments – one at the front and one at the back, will give the model 3 a huge advantage over the rivals, which are said to be the BMW 3-series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

Musk also said that the Model 3 will be a car with five stars in every safety category and all the Model 3s will come with Tesla’s latest autopilot feature as standard. Tesla Model 3 will also be the first Tesla to be launched in India, though no time frame has been set for the same.